Social Media Tips: My top FIVE Pros and Cons

March 2, 2017

The power of social media is growing every day. Actually, it’s changing and evolving by the minute. It’s a fast-paced world and a lot of people look to social media first for information. Whether it be news, celebrity gossip, etc.…I can’t guarantee you’re getting accurate information in the world’s 140 character opinions via twitter, but hey, that’s a post for another day…

It’s no secret that I love social media. It’s fun, creative, challenging and a wonderful way to connect to the world around you. It’s also a powerful tool for businesses and can be leveraged in many different to grow your audience.

Today I’m sharing my top five pros and cons of social media for business, from my mom blogger/social media-lover perspective! I’m an early adopter of most social media platforms, I’m not an expert at any single one, but I know my way around all of them and have found certain ones to be more helpful than others, but maybe I’ll save that for another blog post. Hell, I even met my husband on social media! It’s a huge part of my life and I’m excited to share some tips on the subject!

My business/brand is myself. Yeah, that sounds totally strange to some, I’m sure, but I started blogging regularly when I was pregnant with my first child. I say regularly because I think I’ve started no less than 10 blogs in my day, but could never quite keep it going. Truth be told, I still struggle, but I digress…So my blog is about my life as a mom, my life as me…I share my photography, other artsy fartsy things and just a peek at our life. It’s probably not really that interesting to most, but it’s also a creative outlet for me and sometimes functions as therapy during times of hardship or just other motherhood struggles. I’ve been able to connect to a widely varying community of other moms and I’ve learned a lot and also helped others learn too.

Now I’m by no means a top influencer on any platform, but in my platform of choice, which is Instagram, I’ve grown a really great following and have even gained some really awesome opportunities through Instagram and this here blog. I never really started to take it seriously as a business tool until around a year ago. I’ve learned so many tips and tricks along the way and while I don’t have a massive following, I do have a massively engaged following…the two are VERY different. I’ll go into engagement vs. followers in another post soon…

But for now, let’s get to the meat…

Top FIVE Pros and Cons of Social Media for your Business/Brand

PROS:

• Ability to reach a wider audience…

Think of this in terms of brick and mortar storefronts. You’re ultimate goal is foot traffic, which is almost solely based on your town’s population and sometimes word of mouth. So you’re only reaching people who’ve seen you in person. This works, obviously…but think about how many more people you can reach if your word of mouth is shared online via platforms like twitter and Facebook. You’re reaching a far wider audience, sometimes in a faster amount of time. People spend a lot of time online these days, too much probably…so you’re able to use this concept as a business strategy to grow your audience and create a following.

• Keeps your brain engaged

For me, social media keeps my brain engaged and inspired. I follow a lot of people from different walks of like, Photographers, artists, doctors, yoga gurus…I’m constantly learning from the hoards of information others are willing to share. I stay inspired and even get the courage to try things I haven’t before, like yoga 😉 …It can help bring new facets of yourself to your business/brand and help you continue to grow.

• Connects you with like-minded people

I’ll be honest here, we live in a super small town and being a working mom, I don’t often get out and don’t typically find people I have a lot in common with. It’s a problem of time, motivation and just lack of resources. But online, I’m able to connect with like-minded people and make lasting and meaningful connections with people. This is very good for brands because fostering good relationships with your audience will create a lasting impact with people coming back again and again. Create meaningful conversations and build a community.

• It provides businesses and brands with helpful tools and analytics to better understand their audience.

Did you know that most social platforms offer analytics for businesses? Well now you do…you can better understand your demographic, what times work best for posting, which posts do better than others…it’s a free wealth of information at your fingertips to help you harness the full potential of your social media presence.

• It’s always changing

Like, literally…ALWAYS changing! It makes it an exciting place to build strategies, encourage growth and makes it so you’re always expanding your knowledge of social media and your knowledge of your industry and business. We want change in business, positive change, but you have move with the industry to truly grow.

CONS:

You’re going to notice my cons are essentially the same. That’s because what I think is helpful or great about social media, can also be a bad thing…

• Ability to reach a wider audience…

Yes, reaching a wider audience is a GOOD thing…but if you’re not focusing your time on defining your specific audience, you’re actually wasting time. Using tools like analytics, connecting with specific groups of people and building your community can help with this. If you aren’t reaching your ideal audience, you’re not going to find the growth you’re looking for. If your business is selling women’s clothing, reaching an audience of men who like camping probably isn’t going to find you more customers….just sayin’…

• Keeps your brain engaged

The same idea that social media keeps my brain engaged, is also a negative thing…sometimes we get caught up and are TOO engaged. Some days I’m so focused on creating conversations online that I fail to see what’s ACTUALLY going on around me. Make time to unplug, your mental health will thank you (and so will your family)…I definitely need to be better about this myself!

• Connects you with like-minded people

I love finding people like me, or people who inspire me! I also love finding small businesses, brands and products I love! But I also find that in the world of social media, it’s easy to be jealous of others, whether it’s jealous of their success, jealous of material possessions, etc.…”comparison is the thief of joy”…Your mind is bombarded daily by people selling themselves or products or social media, so they’re putting their best out there, which can sometimes translate to comparison for you because you’re left wondering “why don’t I have 100k followers? Why can’t I afford a designer dress for my daughter? Why can’t I do a headstand in yoga?” But the answer here is simple, everyone is working their asses off behind the scenes, and like I said, showing you their best…It’s hard to stay authentic and I often remind myself that we are all different and we are all just living our lives, no matter how different it may sometimes seem. Just be you and use your community to build you up, not break you down.

• It provides businesses with helpful tools and analytics to better understand their audience.

Analytics and SEO are irreplaceable when it comes to business/brand, don’t get me wrong. But sometimes you can get caught up in what you think works, that it hinders your daily goals. Take for instance the analytical date that tells you what time is best to post…you’re automatically thinking THAT’S WHEN I SHOULD POST, almost obsessively. And hey, if that works, so be it! But don’t let the time define your schedule and don’t be obsessed with being online every day at that exact time because it will drive you bonkers! Either find a tool to schedule your posts or just don’t fret. If you have an engaged and loyal audience, your posts will speak to them regardless of time. Ease up on the data sometimes, refocus and remember why you do what you do…get back to sharing what you love.

• It’s always changing

So like I said, change is good…but sometimes change is bad too…Companies like Facebook and twitter are always changing strategies and changing the way people use their sites. It can be bad if you don’t stay up on the news and trends that follow these platforms. If you aren’t revisiting your strategy and re-evaluating how you’re using social media, you won’t have your content delivered to your audience properly. Each platform has confusing and challenging algorithms now. What you share isn’t necessarily going to be seen by everyone like the good old days. You have to work at it and mold your strategy as times and audience change as well.

Social media has been an amazing tool for me and my blog. I hope I can help you use it for your own! It’s useful for so many things and just a way for me to share our stories and build a community of moms who can relate to life!

I hope this was helpful info! I’m looking to expand on this and offer up some informational content for those looking to get a handle on their social media and really see some growth in their niche. If you’d be interested in workshops, courses or one-on-one sessions, enter your email below and I’ll be sure to keep you in the loop! (No spam here) 😉

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Social Media Tips: My top FIVE Pros and Cons was last modified: March 2nd, 2017 by admin

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